Molly Gibson's Blue Frock - A project to start

This is my absolute favorite gown from the miniseries "Wives and Daughters".  I've been thinking about duplicating it for a while, but I wasn't so sure I wanted to start drafting on such a big project.  I took some screen captures during the film, and am putting the best ones up here.  I'll give my observations on the dress's features beneath the photo that shows it best.  To start, it is a romantic dress, meaning from the romantic era.  The Romantic era is sandwiched in-between the Regency and Victorian eras, so in this film you get a wide variety of fashions and transitional gowns.

It is a sleeveless dress, technically known as a jumper.  Molly wears it with a couple different white, or off-white blouses throughout the course of the movie.

Both the back and the front of the bodice sport scooped necklines.  Although I cannot see any darts, I can only assume that there are because of the way it fits the actress.

Buttons, buttons, buttons.  All the way down, but are they useable?  I highly doubt that there is forty or so button holes in this dress.  AND, even if there is, I'M not putting them there. :-)  Of course, the top few should be real, but is it necessary to do it the whole way down?!  Who knows, perhaps I will, and hand-stitch them all.

One thing that is quite obvious is the white trim that goes around the neckline, down the front, and then around the hem.

There is also a belt, but I doubt that it is attached.

Ankle length...

Fitted bodice, and a skirt that is gathered almost all the way around.  The very front, probably 2 inches on either side of the trim that surrounds the buttons is not gathered.

Now we come to the end.  After seeing all this, I was pretty sure I could do it, then I remembered.  "Hey, remember when you were going through the show and tell sections of Jennie Chancey's Sense and Sensibility patterns website?  You saw a pink version of a dress kinda like this...maybe...just maybe... Go Check it out!"  

And so I did, and sure enough, there it was, the Romantic Era Pattern!  So, I have purchased it, and await the time when I will see the perfect fabric on clearance and the perfect buttons and trim at a garage sale or on sale!